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Alverno was founded in 1887 by the School Sisters of St. Francis for the purpose of educating women. The college provides educational opportunities to all women, regardless of socio-economic background. Well over 50% of Alverno students are the first in their families to attend college and more than 70% qualify for need-based financial aid. Alverno boasts the highest percentage of minority students for any public or private college in Wisconsin. To serve students of modest means, Alverno tuition is kept as affordable as possible and is among the lowest of Wisconsin's 21 private colleges.

CEDAR CREST COLLEGE IS A LIBERAL ARTS COLLEGE PRIMARILY FOR WOMEN DEDICATED TO THE EDUCATION OF THE NEXT GENERATION OF LEADERS. THE COLLEGE PREPARES STUDENTS FOR LIFE IN A GLOBAL COMMUNITY BY EDUCATING THE WHOLE STUDENT AT ALL STAGES OF LIFE AND EXPERIENCE.

Bennett College prepares women of color through a transformative liberal arts education to lead with purpose, integrity, and a strong sense of self-worth. Bennett provides educational access to students while promoting inquiry, civic engagement, social justice, lifelong learning, and equity for all.

Consistent with its Catholic identity and Mercy heritage, Mercyhurst University educates men and women in a culture where faith and reason flourish together, where the beauty and power of the liberal arts combine with an appreciation for the dignity of work and a commitment to serving others. Confident in the strength of its student-faculty bonds, the university community is inspired by the image of students whose choices, in life and work, will enable them to realize the human and spiritual values embedded in everyday realities and to exercise leadership in service toward a just world.

Lakeland University is a private institution known for its strong traditional, on-campus undergraduate program, its flexible Evening, Weekend & Online adult program and its three graduate programs (business administration, education and counseling).MissionLakeland University educates women and men of diverse backgrounds, preparing them to think critically, to communicate effectively, to succeed professionally, and to lead ethical, purposeful and fulfilling lives. Rooted in the values of the United Church of Christ, Lakeland integrates the liberal arts and experiential learning to develop the whole person for success in a dynamic, multi-faceted world.

Quincy University stands as a Catholic, independent, liberal arts institution of higher learning in the Franciscan tradition. Inspired by the spirit of Francis and Clare of Assisi, we respect each person as a sister or brother with dignity, value, and worth. We work for justice, peace and the integrity of creation. We prepare men and women for leadership and for the transformation of the world by educating them to seek knowledge that leads to wisdom. We welcome and invite all to share our spirit and life. Founded by Franciscans in 1860, QU is an independent, coeducational, primarily undergraduate institution rooted in the Catholic tradition. It offers degree, professional, and continuing education programs based on the liberal arts and humanities.

On October 1, 1891, Stanford University opened its doors after six years of planning and building. In the early morning hours, construction workers were still preparing the Inner Quadrangle for the opening ceremonies. The great arch at the western end had been backed with panels of red and white cloth to form an alcove where the dignitaries would sit. Behind the stage was a life-size portrait of Leland Stanford, Jr., in whose memory the university was founded. About 2,000 seats, many of them sturdy classroom chairs, were set up in the 3-acre Quad, and they soon proved insufficient for the growing crowd. By midmorning, people were streaming across the brown fields on foot. Riding horses, carriages and farm wagons were hitched to every fence and at half past ten the special train from San Francisco came puffing almost to the university buildings on the temporary spur that had been used during construction. Just before 11 a.m., Leland and Jane Stanford mounted to the stage. As Mr. Stanford unfolded his manuscript and laid it on the large Bible that was open on the stand, Mrs. Stanford linked her left arm in his right and held her parasol to shelter him from the rays of the midday sun. He began in measured phrases: "In the few remarks I am about to make, I speak for Mrs. Stanford, as well as myself, for she has been my active and sympathetic coadjutor and is co-grantor with me in the endowment and establishment of this University..." What manner of people were this man and this woman, who had the intelligence, the means, the faith and the daring to plan a major university in Pacific soil, far from the nation's center of culture ? a university that broke from the classical tradition of higher learning?